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A couple of things that might not be too interesting.
1) Dry-fitting a the neck joint prior to gluing the neck on. The final fit has to be a hand operation and here's a pic of the typical joint that's ready to be glued in place. The neck angle has been perfected as part of the job (of course). These are things that cannot ever be "ready to glue" straight off of the machining. The fit of the neck, and it's angle relative to the top have to be finessed per-guitar. Unfortunately.
P.S. The asymmetrical heel..."why?"... would be the subject for a separate conversation, in a different part of this fine forum. And of course the sharp edges are softened significantly, but after the neck is glued on.
2) Ive finally found a way...after 43 years full-time.. to get the true "oxidized maple" effect without the use of toxic chemicals+UV, without double-staining methods that emphasize the grain whilst making it 2-D, or by hanging in sunlight for many months. It's a 4-step process that differs from any methods I have used in the past (i.e., all of the above methods). It completely and absolutely mimics the effect of exposing the maple to air+light for months and years.
Oxidizing figured maple prior to overcoating is a finish technique that has a history ranging back to the early days of orchestral string building, and a number of methods have been used to "amber" the wood prior to any finishing....in order to provide the richest background for the finish work to come.
After experimenting on/off for a few months I finally solved the nagging problem as to how to do it safely and controllably...in short order.
The bench lighting caused this pic's color on the top to look uneven, when in fact the color is perfectly even...just as natural oxidation would be.
Oxidation is not the ideal set-up for every color scheme, but for antique-oriented sunbursts I am certain to use the new method for the remainder of my career.
This step precedes the pore filling and so the sloppy left-overs from that operation will be cleaned up after having spent the weekend in the curing room.
1) Dry-fitting a the neck joint prior to gluing the neck on. The final fit has to be a hand operation and here's a pic of the typical joint that's ready to be glued in place. The neck angle has been perfected as part of the job (of course). These are things that cannot ever be "ready to glue" straight off of the machining. The fit of the neck, and it's angle relative to the top have to be finessed per-guitar. Unfortunately.
P.S. The asymmetrical heel..."why?"... would be the subject for a separate conversation, in a different part of this fine forum. And of course the sharp edges are softened significantly, but after the neck is glued on.
2) Ive finally found a way...after 43 years full-time.. to get the true "oxidized maple" effect without the use of toxic chemicals+UV, without double-staining methods that emphasize the grain whilst making it 2-D, or by hanging in sunlight for many months. It's a 4-step process that differs from any methods I have used in the past (i.e., all of the above methods). It completely and absolutely mimics the effect of exposing the maple to air+light for months and years.
Oxidizing figured maple prior to overcoating is a finish technique that has a history ranging back to the early days of orchestral string building, and a number of methods have been used to "amber" the wood prior to any finishing....in order to provide the richest background for the finish work to come.
After experimenting on/off for a few months I finally solved the nagging problem as to how to do it safely and controllably...in short order.
The bench lighting caused this pic's color on the top to look uneven, when in fact the color is perfectly even...just as natural oxidation would be.
Oxidation is not the ideal set-up for every color scheme, but for antique-oriented sunbursts I am certain to use the new method for the remainder of my career.
This step precedes the pore filling and so the sloppy left-overs from that operation will be cleaned up after having spent the weekend in the curing room.
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